Can we delete a post?
Delete, no. To preserve the continuity of discussions, we disabled deleting posts outright. Posts are the archive of our community, and to redact that record is to falsify our history.
That said, you are able to edit posts. If it’s just a grammar or spelling mistake, or if you’ve changed your mind and want to put a link to a post with your more nuanced views, you can do that. But we ask that you not abuse it by removing whole posts, because it doesn’t just remove your post, it upsets the discussion that your post is a part of.
So that means yes. If you hunt through the past you can find many posters have taken the time to delete thousands of their posts leaving just an “x” or somesuch where their text body had been. It is not a criminal offense to delete your posts, only a ‘house rule’.
Thanks for that clarification, Billy. For all those who were contacting their attorneys.
When we see people doing that, we remove their ability to edit their posts, and often give out warnings as well. It’s a house rule, but in the context of the house that’s as good as criminal.
WHY?
Because you’re contributing to a community. To you, it’s your post. To everyone else on the site, it’s a post that keeps a conversation logical. If you cut out your posts, half the argument could be lost.
If you want to have a temporary conversation, go on AIM or Chatroulette. This site is designed for posts to be left to be read by others later, and it functions best when it’s approached that way.
okay okay I was only asking… geez